Don't miss Marky D'z Food Bus for Philly cheesesteaks - or banana pudding

Mark Hogans Sr. grew up in Camden, N.J., right across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pa., home of the Philly cheesesteak.

Since last October he’s been serving up a little bit of Philadelphia from a school bus he turned into a food bus, Marky D’z Food Bus.

“That’s home right there,” said Hogans at the Cabrini Farmers Market on Saturday where he set the bus up. “That was our favorite pastime as kids. Philly cheesesteaks.”

Made just like they are in Philly

The cheesesteaks are made exactly like they are made in Philadelphia. And there’s something more.

“The meat that I use comes from Philadelphia,” said Hogans. “It’s the meat that they use in Philly.”

A couple of other menu items have also proved to be quite popular.

“My turkey burger seems to be an out-of-the-park kind of thing, too,” he said.

And so has the banana pudding. "That dang banana pudding," Hogans said laughing.

It's back by popular demand. What is it about the banana pudding that made it a hit?

“The richness and the creaminess is what draws them,” said Hogans.

Operating the business is not something he does alone. His fiancée LaKeishere Southerland, a teacher at Nachman Elementary School, also helps him out. She designed the menu, he said.

Hogans also teaches. He’s a virtual schoolteacher by day in Rapides Parish and has been with the district since 1998.

Operated Rafterz restaurant

In 2018 Hogans opened a restaurant, Rafterz, that later closed.

But while the restaurant was open, he was asked to speak to students at Pineville Junior High School about running a business.

And one of them asked him a question. “What would you do if your business doesn’t work?”

“And I told him you do like an athlete. You pull back, exercise – do like an athlete that’s been injured. You pull back. You exercise. And you make yourself stronger and you come back,” Hogan said.

So when Rafterz closed, he followed his own advice, and a food truck was a familiar concept.

“I did a lot of research, to explore how I was going to keep my dream alive,” he said. “And I thought of a trailer. I thought of a bus. I thought of a vehicle repeatedly. I constantly did my research. I decided to go with the bus because the food truck concept is nothing new to me.”

Growing up, when he and his family were in Philadelphia, they would buy hot dogs from hot dog carts.

“So, I figured I’d go with this concept as a mark of my history, with that experience. I figured if I’m going to do this, this is the way to go,” said Hogans.

He also spoke to a company that sold buses. Hogans was told that school buses are built like tanks because of the children who ride them. He bought the bus from a man in Jeanerette who used it for a prison ministry.

Hogans said a lot of the places the bus goes to are in Alexandria by request.

“Those requests kind of limit my ability to choose a spot outside of our regular times which is 4-7 p.m.,” he said.

Where can you find Marky D'z Food Bus?

If you want to catch the bus, visit the Marky D'z Food Bus Facebook page for days, times and locations.

Some days the bus will be outside of Central Louisiana Technical Community College in downtown Alexandria, said Hogans.

Marky D’z Food Bus will be parked at the Front Yard Food Trucks Park on Highway 28 East in Pineville from 4-7 p.m. on some weeknights.

On weekends Hogans said he tries to be out from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at various locations.

Sometimes on Saturdays, the bus will be at the Cabrini Farmers Market in the back parking lot of St. Frances Cabrini Church on East Texas Avenue from 9 a.m. to noon.

This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: When it comes to Philly cheesesteaks, catch Marky D'z Food Bus